Vocabulary · Tier 2: academic words
Whole-school word of the week
Every class focuses on the same academic word each week, using it across subjects, in assemblies and on displays. Students meet the word in many contexts, which helps it stick.
- Bands
- 2 to 5
- Stages
- Upper elementary, Middle school and High school
- Settings
- Mainstream class and At home
- Prep
- Medium prep
How to do it
- Choose a list of useful academic words for the term, such as compare, evaluate, evidence and consequence.
- Share the word and a student-friendly definition with all staff at the start of the week.
- Ask every subject to use it at least once, with an example from their own subject.
- Display it in hallways and classrooms, with examples from different subjects.
- Recognize students who use it well in speaking or writing.
In a lesson
Across subjects (middle school)
The word of the week is evaluate. In science, students evaluate a method. In PE, they evaluate a partner’s sprint start. In history, they evaluate a source. By Friday, a band 2 student says about her artwork, “I evaluate my drawing. The shading is good but the shape is wrong.”
What commonly goes wrong
- The word is announced but not used in lessons.
- The words chosen are too easy or too subject-specific.
- Nobody checks whether students can use the word by the end of the week.
Adapting it
For a lower band
Add a picture and a home language translation to the display.
For a higher band
Challenge students to use the whole word family, such as evaluate and evaluation, in their writing.